Monthly Archives: December 2012

Tehillim (1981) is a favorite Reich work of mine, so of course I couldn’t resist sharing this multimedia extravaganza. Named after the Hebrew word for the Psalms, twenty-three performers groove through each twisting canon following the agogic accents of the Biblical text. Surprisingly or not, Tehillim sounds quite unlike traditional Jewish recitations of the Torah. In the composer’s […]

What is music? What is music? What is music? Though not a tonal language per se, English is a language of inflection and affection. We find ourselves enrapt with music’s ineffable characteristics, however to reach an agreeable definition seems impossible and ill advised. Below represents the dynamic and diverse conclusions of composers, philosophers and, of course, musicians on the […]

Presuming that there is such a thing as “progress” when it comes to music, and that music is “better” now than it used to be is typical of the high self-regard of those who live in the present. It is a myth. Creativity doesn’t “improve.” I came across this bold assertion in the first chapter […]